Queen Elizabeth II of Britain said Saturday that her prayers were with the survivors and victims on the 20th anniversary of the September 11 terror attacks.
In a message to President Joe Biden, she said, “my thoughts and prayers — and those of my family and the entire nation — remain with the victims, survivors and families affected, as well as the first responders and rescue workers called to duty.”
Sixty-seven British nationals were among the 2,977 people who were killed 20 years ago in the single largest loss of life caused by a foreign attack on U.S. soil.
Two planes were flown into the Twin Towers at New York’s World Trade Center, another was flown into the Pentagon outside of Washington D.C., and a fourth crashed in Pennsylvania after it was hijacked. Nineteen militants linked to al Qaeda were responsible for the attacks.
“My visit to the site of the World Trade Center in 2010 is held fast in my memory. It reminds me that as we honor those from many nations, faiths and backgrounds who lost their lives, we also pay tribute to the resilience and determination of the communities who joined together to rebuild,” the statement also said.
The U.S. national anthem The Star Spangled Banner was also played during Saturday’s changing of the guard at Windsor Castle, according to the BBC, followed by a minute’s silence.
